Undergrad School Question

[queenskillers]

i am a h.s senior very interested in a career in dentistry. right now im choosin between my undergrad schools and needed help. i hear it does not matter much where you go to your undergraduate as long as you keep your g.p.a high. financially i dont think i can afford paying 8 years of big bucks for college and then go on to open a practice with that debt. im deciding between colgate university, suny binghamton, and cuny honors colege-queens college (free tuition, free books, 7500 dollar stipend, internships, free tutoring, free ibook laptop and much more-this is a new program that was very competitive to even get into (1350 sat, 95 avg)). cuny honors college is my first choice, i love it in every way possible, but im worried that it will still be seen as a cuny and my chances for dental school will be lower. where do you think i should go? i am also very business minded, do you think it will be easier to major in bio so i can get my reqs done with for dental school or should i try to be a "diverse applicant" and major in business, something i would probably do better at anyway. thanks for the help!!!!!

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[ecdoesit]

I dont see anything wrong with Cuny with all those free stuff. Congradulation. I would stick with bio major while you could pursue a business minor. No matter what, I agree that your GPA should be high. I am sure that you wont have much problem since you get a full scholarship to college. Good luck

 

[gatorfan99]

Wow! Congrats!! Definately go to your cheapest option for undegrad.. I have no clue where your college options are located, but in my case I went to the (public) U.of Florida with a full scholarship offered by the state of Florida and after 5 years (1 internship, 2 degrees) I took out very little in loans.

By the way, HAVE FUN!! Also, don't be deadset on a profession.. Explore as much as you can in college and SEE WHATS OUT THERE!


Gatorfan.

 

[queenskillers]

thanks gator and ecdo ur replys were of great help.....if you guys or neone else for that matter hav ne more advice for my undergrad, please feel free to post....this is the site for the cuny honors college reviews by media http://portal.cuny.edu/portal/site/...ur/honorscollege/admissions/in-the-press.html[/SIZE]......to stay in the program i need to keep a 3.5.....according to the students ive spoken to there, they say its not too difficult....do u think jus staying at the 3.5 requirement should put me in a good position...i plan to attend stony brook for dental school since im from nyc and its state tuition....thanks for the help

 

[ToothMonkey]

Go to the cheapest school possible. I went to an expensive undergrad school and in retrospect I do regret saddling my parents with the monster bill.

Pick the major you are most interested in and expect to enjoy learning about. That way you will be motivated to spend more time on the material and it will pay off in the form of an improved GPA.

Keep in mind that you could very easily end up changing majors and/or careers anyway. Just go with the flow. Personally I didn't pick dentistry as a career until after graduating college, and there are plenty of even older applicants who are actually choosing dentistry as a second career. Take your time and don't rush into anything.

Good luck.

 

[aphistis]

Agree with everbody else. As long as you're satisfied you'll be able to perform well academically, go with the full ride. You'll be able to buy a WHOLE lot of beer and pizza with all the money you're saving through the scholarship. Also, don't artificially limit your career choices in college. If you want to do dentistry, then by all means pursue it zestfully; but don't be hesitant to explore other options too.

 

[jes1ca]

I disagree. I think you should choose the school that best fits you and your needs, regardless of cost. I think education is the best investment that you can make. I went to an expensive, private undergraduate school (with a scholarship for a little over a quarter of the tuition in scholarship) and it was the best decision that I made in my life. You're going to spend your whole life being a slave to money and establishment if you start making decisions like this right now.

If you really think the cheaper school is the best fit for you, then by all means, go there. Just don't go because it's free if you really like another place a whole lot better. You might regret that decision. Remember you only live once and you need to do what makes you the happiest.

As for a major, don't pick one that makes you look "more diverse." Pick the one that genuinely interests you the most. If you're passionate about business, be a business major. Don't do it for the sole purpose of looking more interesting. I think you're a step ahead of the game, knowing you want to go to d-school before entering college. You're way ahead of me in my career decision. By the way, I still got into dental school with a biology major.

That's just my opinion.

Jessica

 

[UBTom]

to the OP:

I guess it's too late now, but did you consider a 7-year combined program? These programs basically consider your first year of dental school as your last year of undergrad so you get both the bachelor's and the DDS/DMD in just 7 years, which saves both time and money. There are plenty of NYC area colleges (some quite affordable even though they are private) that offers this, like Adelphi, St. John's, Hofstra, etc.

I used to work at the Admissions office at St. John's University, and they have a combined 7-year BA-DDS program with Columbia's dental school. The nice thing about SJU is that after TAP, merit- and need-based scholarships, it costs only about $15,000 for the three years of college there... Though the four years at Columbia's dental school is another matter entirely.

Adelphi offers their 7-year combined program with the SUNY dental school at Buffalo and that's even cheaper.

Something for NYS high school seniors interested in dentistry to consider, I guess.

 

[ecdoesit]

jes1ca
You have a very good point there. But cost, at least for me, is a huge concern. I dont want to go into dental school with a huge loan. Seriously, I worked 20 hours per week in my undergrad years to get me through. All I am saying is that if you could be debt free, you will have tons of opportunities to do something you want and explore. I mean given those opportunities such as internship from CUNY, I dont think there is anything bad.

I would go visit the school again and talk with people. Make sure that you like that place and you feel that you could make something out from there.

I agree with gatorfan99. Even though you have a general direction toward dentistry, you should keep on learning other fields as well. As somebody else points out in another thread, there are disadvantages being a dentist regarding how people view you as a doctor and what not. Spend some time to observe and think through these issues. You have tons of time to think =) And definitely hang around SDN to ask and answer posts. Let us know your choice.

 

[queenskillers]

let me just tak the time out to thank each and every one of you that has made a post.....you're help is truly appreciated....i am especially excited because i am new to studentdoctor and didnt expect such great advice...thanks you guys....a few more questions....will dental schools know that i am part of the cuny honors college when i apply or will they still view it as a regular cuny...i love the cuny honors college in every way possible, i visited also and spoke to many students....i am just worried that its reputation isnt out there yet since it was just recently introduced....and one more thing, do you guys have any early advice to help me get into dental school before i attend (like go shadow a dentist during the summer or something like that)....and just to answer one of the threads above, i do know about the 7 year programs and in fact i got accepted to a few, one of them being the university of hartford...its just that in case i do change my mind about dentistry, i wouldnt have a problem with a regular undergrad...well im outtie..take care guys

 

[UBTom]

I don't know about the one at the University of Hartford, but at the SJU combined 7-year program, you are not obligated to go right into dental school after your 3rd year if you change your mind.

It might be a good idea for you to inquire about the flexibility of the 7-year programs you applied to-- If you are allowed to change your mind after completing your 3rd year, you can have your cake and eat it too, as the saying goes..

 

[Dr.SpongeBobDDS]

Definitely go with the full ride. Dental schools tend to be a lot less snooty about where you did your undergrad than some other programs. And if you HAVE to keep a 3.5 to stay in school you will be golden when you graduate. I wouldn't worry one bit about any perceived stigma of CUNY programs. Congratulations and go where they're paying you.

 

[queenskillers]

is it true that if you come from the top ranking schools, dental schools will raise your g.p.a using a special formula...i want to go with the full ride but if it ends up being harder to get into dental school by not choosing a top ranking university, im worried....i dont even want to end up going to the hardest dental schools because of the money factor, i just want to end up at stony brook or something that has in-state tuition reduction...any advice?....thanks

 

[gryffindor]

queenskiller, some dental schools base their admissions on a formula where different components of your applications get awarded points. The total number of points you earn in the end translate to either acceptance, waitlist, or deny. SUNY Buffalo does their admissions this way and they award points for criteria like GPA, DAT, NY resident or not, non-traditional student or not, letters of rec, extra-curriculars, etc. One of the criteria is the undergrad school you attended, but it is a VERY SMALL part of the formula. It is not worth it to choose Colgate over Binghamtone or CUNY b/c of this component of dental admissions formulas. Factors like GPA and DAT score are MUCH MUCH MUCH more heavily weighted in the formula than reputation of undergrad so a 4.0 from CUNY would probably still beat out a 3.0 from Colgate, all else being equal. To see further proof to this, read this thread through 2004 Applicants Stats Page and you will see that many students on this forum get multiple acceptances to dental school regardless of the relatively unknown or regional undergrads they attend.

In your scenario, I'd go with #1 CUNY, #2 Binghamton, #3 Colgate. High GPA and kick-butt DAT scores are where dental admissions are at, not the reputation of your undergrad. Since it sounds like you love the CUNY program, go there b/c you will certainly be happy there. Just don't let yourself slip out of the program if you are so determined to go for dentistry; get help EARLY if you feel you need it. There is nothing wrong in asking for help, whether you're trying to go from a fail to pass or B to A.

Is the Hartford program with UConn's dental school? Stonybrook is a great dental school for NY, but UConn is also a good school for the right price, if that's where the joint program leads you in 4 years.

Good luck to you.